The viewing of 'Seraphine' and the magnificent performance of Yolande Moreau, an actress who seems born to play this role reminded me a few other films who had on their center great artists devoted to their art up to the limits of mental sanity. Mel Ferrer's 'El Greco' and John Hurt's 'Vincent' come to my mind immediately.
The first part of the film happens in the treasonous summer of 1914, in the months before The Great War starts. The famous German art collector and critic Wilhelm Uhde (acted with welcome discretion by Ulrich Tukur), one of these man who do not buy art to resell it, but sell art to buy what they love finds summer refuge from Paris and his own daemons in the French countryside. He discovers to his surprise that the aging maid in the house is a painter, and a flamboyant one, despite her lack of artistic education or of any education. The war breaks, the German becomes the enemy and is obliged to flee France where he returns only one decade later.
Here happens one of the astounding scenes of the film. Ulrich comes to look for Seraphine, he does not know and we do not know if she is still alive, or if she is still willing to talk with the prospective protector who abandoned her. The scene is sordid, in a decrepit building filmed without inspiration (I believe that this is intentional, in this film only art and nature have color and beauty), the door is closed, and anything can happen at this point, even the end of the movie.
The door does open and the next and final part of the film is dedicated to the sudden success of Seraphine, her lack of capacity to deal with success, he sliding into insanity. It appears that her art origins in a mystic impulse, maybe an unhappy love story, but for an artist she says, love takes other paths than it does with common people. While in need and under harsh economic pressure her faith was channeled into art, when success comes she does not stop to create (actually creates some of her best works at this time) but her mystic beliefs try to find other ways of expression, which for the rest of the world belong to insanity.
Director Martin Provost makes a wise choice not to comment or direct the viewers into judging the character, but rather lets them draw their own conclusions. How can genius be judged, where is the real border between genius and insanity, aren't rather these the two faces of the personalities of many great artists? The scenes where we see Seraphine painting are magnificent, she is determined and fragile, naive and passionate.
The real Seraphine Louis or Seraphine de Senlis spent the last few years of her life in a mental institution exactly at the time when her work started to be known, appreciated, and loved by the art public world wide. The beautiful last scene shows her in a serene posture, in the middle of the nature which seems to have been together with love for God the principal source of inspiration of her work. I can only hope that her end was as serene as the last scene of this wonderful film.
The first part of the film happens in the treasonous summer of 1914, in the months before The Great War starts. The famous German art collector and critic Wilhelm Uhde (acted with welcome discretion by Ulrich Tukur), one of these man who do not buy art to resell it, but sell art to buy what they love finds summer refuge from Paris and his own daemons in the French countryside. He discovers to his surprise that the aging maid in the house is a painter, and a flamboyant one, despite her lack of artistic education or of any education. The war breaks, the German becomes the enemy and is obliged to flee France where he returns only one decade later.
Here happens one of the astounding scenes of the film. Ulrich comes to look for Seraphine, he does not know and we do not know if she is still alive, or if she is still willing to talk with the prospective protector who abandoned her. The scene is sordid, in a decrepit building filmed without inspiration (I believe that this is intentional, in this film only art and nature have color and beauty), the door is closed, and anything can happen at this point, even the end of the movie.
The door does open and the next and final part of the film is dedicated to the sudden success of Seraphine, her lack of capacity to deal with success, he sliding into insanity. It appears that her art origins in a mystic impulse, maybe an unhappy love story, but for an artist she says, love takes other paths than it does with common people. While in need and under harsh economic pressure her faith was channeled into art, when success comes she does not stop to create (actually creates some of her best works at this time) but her mystic beliefs try to find other ways of expression, which for the rest of the world belong to insanity.
Director Martin Provost makes a wise choice not to comment or direct the viewers into judging the character, but rather lets them draw their own conclusions. How can genius be judged, where is the real border between genius and insanity, aren't rather these the two faces of the personalities of many great artists? The scenes where we see Seraphine painting are magnificent, she is determined and fragile, naive and passionate.
The real Seraphine Louis or Seraphine de Senlis spent the last few years of her life in a mental institution exactly at the time when her work started to be known, appreciated, and loved by the art public world wide. The beautiful last scene shows her in a serene posture, in the middle of the nature which seems to have been together with love for God the principal source of inspiration of her work. I can only hope that her end was as serene as the last scene of this wonderful film.